SCIENCE, MECHANICAL INVENTIONS. ETC.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 13235, 21 July 1906, Page 4 (Supplement)

SCIENCE, MECHANICAL INVENTIONS. ETC.

WHAT MACHINERY HAS ACCOMPLISHED, '-V;, <-■;,;, ' • Qjfs man does to-day the work of fifty hMidloom weavers. ' • '.: - One man in a pottery docs 1000 potters' •;';'. "work. .. - .■*-.: : -■ '-..-■' '■-.'.., .-> '-,•.'-.; ■; One man at a nail-makiug machine does [■'<'•■■' the work of 1000 old-time nailmakcrs. I PH % • —: — : " »}'■' • A NEW RIFLE-BARREL STEEL. '' A new rifle-barrel steel is receiving atV ' tention from the War Office. ; Its chief ' -'' feature is its strength,;the elastic limit being from 43 to 45 to is per square inch. '-'■■: The steel is easily bored, and gives a ..satis- :- factory bursting test. • ' PS;:'" V:':-':''- v y> ■?.'V'. v ;;;---:''--.;-;^vi ;;:, - ! ' ;VV:,: ''.' ■;••-•'■" ';\.]\)v^'->i-';:-

" " WHEN THE MOTOR IS AT HOME. The motor-car of a Paris firm is designed; -i; \ to light the country residence of its owner or do other work in its : hours of rest from travel. The car is immovably braked, on two fixed rails placed in the auto-house, the ' : detachable crank provided is removed from 1 the two-cylinder gasoline motor, and by means of a shaft with two universal joints '' • tie motor: is - connected ■-, with the dynamo .... r or other machine to '■>& driven. WMs?y i&i'v'S •^^H.y.;*' , ",,;;'.' , V; <■; ■■■.;;■.'' s■:■ MOVING PICTURES. Moving pictures are considered a modern invention; but at the beginning of the : - eighteenth century an English engineer, invented an arrangement of figures painted on thin strips of wood which were put on a %:;M. canvas background, Jso that by; the aid- of •wires they could be made to move and go through .various' actions in a lifelike way. This was considered a marvel at that time, and the engineer exhibited his invention all over England. );;v:,3;>'2>>;"uk:■ s-..;;..;;;;.— -......:..,....,'....,...... .... - .■. .-■j:^'']'~''*' : ~t^'?•■•■'. FOR MOTOR DRIVERS AND : CYCLISTS. A new invention has been patented this ' year which* should conduce materially to the comfort of men who are ' obliged to take motor drives or rides for many hours in cold weather. They generally complain of tho pain caused by grasping for any great length of time the icy cola handles or steering wheel. Even when provided •with warm glows the hands become be- ■ numbed, and from America has originate! the clever electrical contrivance which conveys heat to the metal,, and thus; prevents the hands frcto being chilled when one is travelling at a good pace in the teeth of ' ? biting wind. * , '&?k%h\x&: \-.ff ■:. !?v;.,;;-'- ; - - : y * -'■-■■;', ■ ■ ■'' ; -'- ■'■ -•• ■ s '-'■'■ •'• .■ ;•'.-'•■■ -' ; - ■;'- ;;■:.;■ ici'fiMSfc'jflSftiJ ■' : :'-: : :'-.;;: ~>v\*'-yy*'c-f\''. ' ' THE SIMPLICITY OF ACETYLENE , ■./';':_. _ _;.;:.' light. ■■":.•:■:■'.'■•..: ' '■ A simple* experiment is thus described

;i,v ' A simple* experiment is thus described by an American advertiser acetylene.gas appliances: —Take a common clay pipe., Pat a simple "acetylene" gas burner on its stem. Bind ; the two in position with a- • tight-fitting piece of rubber hose. Then fill the bowl of th© pipe with fine-ground calcium carbide. ' Next tie a rag. over: ? the K head of the bowl to keep in the carbide. " Now, put the pip© into a glass of water. There you have a complete gas plant. .. Touch a. match to • the burner, and you'll get a beautiful white gas light. Of course,this is only an experiment, but it shows the ■•; .' wonderful simplicity of acetylene lighting. ' : NEW USE FOB LOCOMOTIVES. ; ■ In ft small.town in Massachusetts re- :;'-, eently; there occurred what is probably the. first instance of the kind on record loco-, ' - motive employed to> run a factory. 1 The - establishment had outgrown the power developed by its old. plant of boilers, and, not wishing to shut down long .enough to iiistal a new battery, 'the-proprietors con- ' ceived the plan, of availing themselves of '.'. one of the surplus locomotives from the shops of a near-by railroad. The engine ■■■:■.■ vied was' a small, freight engine. It was sidetracked near the factory. The pipes leading to the cylinder heads were disconnected, and one of them connected to the > steam- dome of the locomotive, leading therefrom to the engine-room of the factory. The plan;wasi perfectly successful. MECHANICAL SHAMPOOING. & .Mechanical arrangement are now super- ■ seding hand appliances in all directions. ' These, have now-entered the region of ; tonsorial art. The general public are gradually becoming convinced of the feasibility 1 of strengthening'the hair by massage. It has, been, proven that it invigorates the scalp when properly done by experienced' .;A roasseurW To relieve the latter of much of the tedious and tiresome rubbing an apparatus has been < invented for \ shampooing, ~ massaging, and removing i, ** loose' hair. : dust z and dandruff from .'.'-'.the scalp. 'In this apparatus- are three brushes attached to a frame, the V surfaces of the brushes being conical in," .~ contour, to conform to the shape of the. , head. The brushes are pivoted to a handle , section, the latter consisting of two handles , —one to hold the apparatus in the exact f position desired, and the others for operat- , ing th© mechanism. This consists of a ; bevelled' gear, which connects with the ■•*■'"■: framework of the brushes. Naturally the turning of a handle is preferable to a constant rubbing motion, with the additional surety that the brushing will be distributed evenly and thoroughly,' ;■•.'.'■'■'■ ; l!'- : nfe;#;' i ; i - ; - ;rjv;r;^;:^;■^;^;^^;;^';';■■■-;;;;^^.;■■;■;;^ : '^■.^; : •;;'-;;-;;;; •»/ v : .-'-. ; ; <^p--^ ?;'•'■■■'■■::'■-»•'.;■-: .:'■■'-:.'>■■■'.■■; .-\ - IS COFFEE HARMFUL? lit. Valentine;Nalpasse, a French physi- .; cian and professor, thinks the use of coffee, properly made and) properly used, is beneficial. He says: — "When coffee is properly made and taken ■ > in moderation it is a most valuable drink. Ii facilitates the digestion, because it produces , a local excitement. }■ Its principal . action gives clear and stable imaginative 1 power to the brain. By doing that it - % makes : intellectual work easy, and, .to v - a - certain extent, regulates the functions of the brain. The thoughts become more pre- /'.'••'■■ cise and! clear,; and mental combinations are formed with much greater rapidity. Un- ■ der the influence of coffee, the, memory is sometimes surprisingly active, and ideas and words flow with ease and elegance. * I am' nob speaking of the effect of the abuse of . coffee —I am speaking of the effects that follow a methodical, ordinary, and reasonable .:. employment of coffee properly prepared. So taken, it facilitates corporal • activity, , be- ■ cause it causes the partial disappearance of ;■;'; .';■;■. fatigue. Europeans who ; live in tropical ' countries use coffee as a means 'of resisting I the depressing action of the climate, and ! they declare that nothing is as refreshing or ! \ffi>% as well fitted to slake thirst. . , ' "Taken after meals, coffee is an aid to digestion. Under its influence the development of digestion is more perfect amd , : . more rapid. . This most excellent drink is ; a stomachic of the first order, particularly >> when it is taken hot. ,"It wairms the stomach, gives vitality to • the muscles, animates the system of circu- ".. lation, and augments the secretions. It agrees equally well with people inclined to embonpoint and heavy eaiters whose digestion it slow and difficult." . '-" In 1857 • Army Surgeon H. Larey {son of the colebrated Larey, who attended Napo- . \ leon I.) stated that he attributed the health : • of the soldiers in camp at Chalons," and also .. the health iof tne army during the war in Italy, to the fact that they drank coffee. .Elizabeth ' Durieux was one hundred) and ' ',-.■. fourteen years old when she was presented -at the French Court (in 1827). Her principal nourishment had been coffee, and , she . ■ had taken forty irnaH cups of it per day. ; ■ Fontenelle, who dramk it incessantly, was over a hundred years old, and) when people I told him that he was drinking poison he ; answered, "If it ir poison, Tam a fine example of the fact that it is a very slow '/ c. poison." Voltaire made an excessive use of 1 coffee. He said that it gave- him youthful vigour of mind sad body. He lived to be ..eighty years old. . Napoleon I. drank move ' .' than 'twenty cups of coffee a day, and was : never hurt "by it. '■ ,' There are, however, some cautions which .„;.,-should'be: observed in the use of coffee. [ . People who have heart disease should not, , ' drink coffee. Children 'should either not Bmik coffw at all, or it should be very -weak. ( '\ Overdoses 'of coffee produce . disturbance of '-•. ■: the heart and a moat distressing form of :*-. vetTousness, • • /; ( '.";.: ■■;' •."vvH-.-'f* ?■'■{%■' '■■'"■■■.; - A «\':;:'. 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